See Attachment
by Andrew Joshua Talon
Summary: Reg Barclay saves the galaxy with a little thing from the 21st century... Add-On to "I, Borg".


**See Attachment**

A Star Trek: The Next Generation fanfiction by Andrew J. Talon

DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit fan-based work of prose. Star Trek is the property of CBS and Paramount. Please support the official release.

* * *

 _An addon to the episode "I, Borg"_

* * *

Picard sat in the lounge as his senior officers left, the doors sliding shut behind them. He contemplated his hands lying on the table in front of him. Hands that, when controlled by the Borg, had taken over 11,000 lives in one day.

Friends of his, comrades he had known since his Academy days. All wiped out by his hands. He was a puppet, used and controlled by the Borg. He clenched his fists together, taking a deep breath.

The Borg were the personification of a singular, monstrous entity. They were motivated by something worse than malice, _worse_ than a desire for conquest. They genuinely though they were on the road to perfection-How could you reason with an enemy that genuinely thought they were doing you a _favor_ by destroying you and your entire civilization?

There was no reasoning with them. No compromise. Yet here he was, just returning another victim to them.

He sucked in a deep breath, his lungs filling with air. He couldn't just use this child... Kill this child to kill his enemy. The enemy of every being in the galaxy, if not universe. And yet...

The door opened, and Picard looked at the door. A tall, thin man in engineering gold stood there with a PADD, his uncomfortable expression betraying his nervousness.

"Yes, Lieutenant Barclay?" Picard asked. The engineer coughed.

"Ah, yes, sorry Captain. I was delayed with some emergency adjustments-A few repairs we needed in preparation for the Borg ship-I was going to drop these off with Commander LaForge in regards to the invasive program-"

Picard stood up, pulling down his tunic. "We've decided to... Not utilize the invasive program," Picard said, slowly and reluctantly as he walked up to Barclay. Barclay looked embarrassed, and nodded in understanding.

"I-I see. Um... Well, it's probably for the best. I mean, not that we can't destroy the Borg, that's bad-But the invasive program has a multitude of issues."

Picard raised his fading eyebrows. "Indeed?" He needed more reassurance in his course of action, and the nervous lieutenant was providing it. "Tell me more. Sit," he said, gesturing to one of the many empty chairs. Barclay nodded, smiling despite his nervousness. He obeyed, sitting down and setting the PADD onto the table. Picard sat at the head of the conference table, his attention on the engineer. Barclay tapped on the PADD and flipped through several diagrams.

"As you can see, while over the short term the invasive program would be effective in causing a Collective wide systems crash, it is conceivable that the Collective could have developed countermeasures. Assimilating a species that can perceive impossible geometries or new technologies, for instance. While it is possible they wouldn't understand the danger in their root commands until it was too late, I thought it was worth finding means to make it as hard for them to determine that as possible."

Picard nodded. "And your solution?"

Barclay smiled. "I looked into old fashioned computer networking and hacking, sir. With what we've learned about the Borg root commands, I've figured out how to create the equivalent of some of the worst scourges of the early digital era, s-sir. Ransomware, the 419 scam, rabbit viruses, you name it."

"I don't think we're going to scam the Borg out of their credits, Mister Barclay," Picard said, somewhat amused. Barclay shook his head.

"In this case it's actually based on the networks themselves, sir. The Borg exchange datapackets through their subspace network, using authorization and protocols not dissimilar to our own handshake protocols. Certain parts of the Collective will find their data held hostage until they send more data to another part of it. Others will horde data sent to try and retain it. And when they send these data packets out, the virus will ensure they send the wrong data thanks to randomization." Barclay pointed to a particular line of coding. "It will spread through the entire Collective, making it more difficult for them to coordinate. Even if they try to wipe one Cube's systems, the viruses will save versions of themselves in non-essential computer systems. If it keeps going, it'll require that the entire Collective be wiped to get rid of it entirely."

Picard frowned thoughtfully. "Will it destroy them?"

Barclay shook his head. "Well, n-no. But I was thinking that it would keep them distracted enough to let the invasive program work. And if it didn't work, at the very least it would make it more difficult for them to attack us. Or-Or anyone!"

Picard slowly nodded. "If they're too busy trying to fix their Collective, they can't hurt anyone else?"

Barclay nodded. "Yes! There are a few programs I could introduce to make it more difficult for them to focus on our ships. Like, if they scan a Federation starship, a subroutine would make them suddenly focus on another task-All sorts of things!"

Picard found a smile on his face.

"While we've decided to not employ the invasive program itself, Mister Barclay, I think this will be much more suitable. Tell me, how soon can you prepare it?"

Barclay smiled. "I-I think just enough time is left..."

The tension in Picard's chest faded. He wouldn't kill Hugh. He wouldn't destroy the Borg... But he could give the Federation a fighting chance. He could make their greatest enemy a shadow of their former selves.

And maybe the galaxy would be a little safer...

* * *

 _And now you know how_ Voyager _survived all that time._


End file.
